Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has pleaded not guilty to a litany of bribery charges, and he’s considering a sneaky gambit to pay his legal bills ahead of the trials, according to a shocking report from NBC News.
Two insiders told NBC News that Menendez is considering running for re-election as an independent.
Menendez has yet to announce a run for re-election, and he looks unlikely to make the Democrats’ cutoff.
To secure a place on the ballot for the Democratic primary, Menendez would need to collect 1,000 signatures by March 25. By contrast, he would need only 800 signatures to run as an independent, and he would have until June 4.
Plus, Menendez looks surprisingly likely to lose a Democratic primary, despite his 18-year incumbency.
Several prominent Democrats have called for Menendez to resign. A few are even running against him. Rep. Andy Kim is running for Menendez’s seat as a Democrat, and so is New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy.
According to NBC News, Menendez has already been circulating petitions, presumably to collect signatures. He’s also reportedly started calling allies and reminding them of his long career.
Menendez has refused to either confirm or deny the rumors of an independent run. A frustrated Menendez told the outlet, “I don’t have to declare what I am doing. When I do, everybody will know.”
Kim accused Menendez of making a last-ditch effort to crowdsource his legal expenses. Kim called the rumor “just another clear example of putting his own personal benefit ahead of what’s right for this country.”
One pundit on MSNBC compared Menendez’s predicament to that of former President Donald Trump… but Trump didn’t need to mount a third-party run in order to secure a place on the ballot.
Take a look —
Our breaking report on Sen Menendez's future plans for @MSNBC @NBCNews: pic.twitter.com/KnT3rOcwsP
— Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) March 14, 2024
Menendez has been indicted for bribery and for conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of Egypt’s administration. After the first indictment, the senator relinquished his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, is facing similar charges.
Earlier this month, co-defendant Jose Uribe pleaded guilty to seven counts, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit bribery. He’s set to be sentenced on June 14.
The Horn editorial team